Posted by islesfan:
I only got to see the final moments of the game last night. But you brought up a single move and a quick step on a statue named Jarvis Hayes. 80 to 90% of his baskets have come on spot up shots.
Each time he plays we see a few moves that he has not shown us before. He has been making pretty good progress, and MDA is rewarding him with increased playing time. He is by far and away the best jump shooter on this team, and it is scary how effortless his 3s are- at times he seems to shoot them with the same ease that others shoot free throws. He has also shown us a few moves to get closer to the basket and to free himself up for his shot. I am hoping to see him go to the basket more often or finish on fast breaks- he has great extension (which may be now hindered by his back) and really can finish at maximum speed with either hand.
The reports- based on the MRIs is that his back is slowly healing, and I seem to recall Gallinari claiming that his game to be at about 75% of where he would be if it was completely healed, and that he still cannot do, with his body, the things his head is telling him to do.
So we are now getting to watch a 20 year old kid who is still not fully developed physically and still growing, playing at about 75% of the level he thinks he should be playing at, slowly becoming the most trusted shooter we have on the team, while playing surprisingly good (but not mistake free) defense for a soft Euro with "stiff legs." Yeah he still makes mistakes, but you are talking about a guy who has played all of about 30 games in this league.
This is the best part about getting to play rookies or other young players like Chandler. You get to see them grow before your eyes. It is why we love to watch exhibition seasons in sports- we get to see a lot young players getting their chance (perhaps their only chance) to play and we get to make our own observations and evaluations of their games and whether or not they will amount to anything.
It must be great to be a Nets fans and see Lopez develop, or be a Kings fan and realize that they may have picked up a stud in Gordon. This really might be one of the better drafts we have had in recent years, and a lot of fans have had a chance to see their rookies evolve through the year.
Well we are finally getting to see if our guy, the most "controversial" pick in the draft, a 20 year old Italian with chronically "stiff legs" (expertly and immediately diagnosed by a certain UK poster) and a bad back probably caused by a desire to get stronger so he would not be ridiculed in fan forums by people having names like islesfellow or Pheromone, get some minutes to prove that he was worthy of a #6 pick and should not be sent back to Italy.
Amazingly, the Italian is actually starting to play like some people thought he could. He is still a child but is already showing flashes of the skills and potential that many saw in him watching him play in Europe. Ultimately, I don't know how he will turn out as a player, but anyone who cannot see and appreciate the progress we have seen from him in about 25 games, even with a bad back and spotty playing time, is going through some major denial.
No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities- C.N. Bovee
3/9/2009 5:36 PM
